Trojans to final

Aaron Johnston and Tallon Morris went for broke and it paid off handsomely.

Johnston broke free from the St. Patrick secondary late in the fourth-quarter on Saturday, hauling in a 65-yard touchdown pass that vaulted the Churchill Trojans into next weekend’s junior high school football final after a mild upset 14-7 win.

Johnston had earlier tied the game on a six-yard sweep, a play set up by his own punt return to the Saints 19-yard line.
The winning touchdown almost didn’t happen, he said.

“It was nerve-wracking,” said Johnston, who finished with three receptions for 69 yards. “It went into the sun and I didn’t see it for a bit, but it came back down, I caught it and just took her home.”

It was the biggest play of the day, and with just over seven minutes to go and the St. Patrick offence sputtering, it turned out to be all the Trojans would need to keep them in the hunt for their second junior title in three seasons.

It’s also one he and Tallon, who was intercepted twice earlier in the contest, have been practising.

“Me and the quarterback would also run that same play whenever the other part of the team went to watch game film. And it worked,” the wiry Johnston said.

St. Pat’s lone score came early in the second quarter, a 29-yard run by running back Michael Gentile that gave the Saints a 7-0 lead they’d carry into halftime.

But though he was an early hero, Gentile ran into a much-improved Trojans defence in the second half, a crew that forced a pair of costly turnovers that helped turn the tide once and for all.

Churchill co-coach Matt Taylor called it a war, a game won in the trenches, and he couldn’t heap enough praise on the Trojans D.
“This team is big on momentum, and when we get that momentum, our team plays as they should,” he said.

Gentile’s first drop came in the fourth, after he returned a kickoff to the Churchill 47. He swung to the left and was hit going out of bounds, the ball last touched by Churchill’s Dylan Covello.

The Trojans didn’t score on that possession, eventually turning the ball over on downs after pushing it to the Saints 36. St. Patrick took over and led by Gentile, began slowly marching back down the field as the clock ticked toward zero.

With 38.1 seconds left and the ball at midfield, Gentile was hit by John Czupryna, who fell on the ball, the turnover allowing Churchill to all but run out the clock.

The Saints (3-2-0) did get the ball once more, but were stopped well short of the goal line as the buzzer sounded.

Johnston said he’s looking forward to taking on St. Ignatius (5-0-0) in the championship final, a team that beat them 29-7 on Oct. 4.

“It’s a nice feeling to get another chance at St. Ignatius, because they beat us before. But I think we’ve advanced more in our skill level and it will be a big game.”